25-year old righty starting pitcher Chris Tillman started his career slowly for the Orioles.  But, last season the light bulb went on over his head, as he pitched in 15 games (all starts) for the Orioles in which he was 9-3 with a 2.93 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP.  He is proving that last year wasn’t a fluke so far in 2013.  Tillman has started 9 games for the Orioles so far this year and he is 3-2 with a 3.52 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP.  Tillman has now pitched in 60 games (all starts) in his first five years with the Orioles and he is 19-20 with a 4.52 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP.  The Orioles hope that Tillman keeps up the good work in 2013.

The Baltimore Orioles have acquired 27-year old lefty swinging 2B/3B/SS Josh Horton from the Oakland A’s for either a player to be named later or cash considerations.  Horton played in 16 games in AAA-ball for the A’s this year and he was 15 for 67 (.224 avg, .620 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 2 homers and 8 RBIs.  He has now played in 578 games in his first seven years in the minors and he is 612 of 2,233 (.274 avg, .719 OPS) with 309 runs scored, 25 homers, 260 RBIs and 26 stolen bases.  Horton might get his first shot at the show at some point in 2013, as 2B has been a black hole for the Orioles so far this year.

The Orioles have signed 32-year old righty swinging catcher Ronny Paulino to a minor league deal.  He played in 20 games for the Orioles last year and he was 16 for 63 (.254 avg, .567 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 0 homers and 5 RBIs.  Paulino has now played in 573 games in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 508 of 1,867 (.272 avg, .700 OPS) with 181 runs scored, 33 homers, 216 RBIs and 4 stolen bases.  Paulino might get another shot with the Orioles at some point in 2013, if he plays well in AAA first.

The Baltimore Orioles have placed righty swinging OF/DH Nolan Reimold on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to May 12th, due to a strained right hamstring.  Reimold has played in 31 games for the O’s so far this year and he is 19 for 101 (.188 avg, .583 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 4 homers and 9 RBIs.  31-year old lefty swinging outfielder Chris Dickerson is likely to get the most of a P.T. bump with Reimold out of action.  Dickerson has played in 12 games for the Orioles so far this year and he is 8 for 25 (.320 avg, .866 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer, 6 RBIs and 1 stolen base.

Righty swinging 2B Rich Dauer was a gamer for the Orioles as he didn’t mind getting dirty.  His best season came way back in 1982.  He played in 158 games in 1982 for the Orioles and he was 156 of 558 (.280 avg, .709 OPS) with 75 runs scored, 8 homers and 57 RBIs.  Dauer played in 1,140 games in his 10 years with the Orioles and he was 984 of 3,829 (.257 avg, .653 OPS) with 448 runs scored, 43 homers, 372 RBIs and 6 stolen bases.  Dauer was a glue player on a lot of good Orioles’ teams and he deserves to be commended for that.

27-year old righty starting pitcher Jair Jurrjens will join the Orioles’ starting rotation this Saturday against the Tampa Bay Rays.  He will be replacing lefty Wei-Yin Chen, who has recently been placed on the D.L.  Jurrjens has pitched in 8 games (all starts) in AAA-ball for the Orioles this year and he is 4-1 with a 3.14 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP.  Jurrjens has pitched in 126 games (125 starts) in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 53-37 with a 3.62 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP.  Jurrjens was a solid major league starting pitcher not too long ago, so maybe the Orioles will catch some lightning in a bottle with him.

The Orioles have placed 27-year old lefty starting pitcher Wei-Yin Chen on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to May 13th due to a strained right oblique.  Chen has started 8 games for the Orioles so far this year and he is 3-3 with a 3.04 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP.  Chen has now pitched in 40 games (all starts) in his first two years with the Orioles and he is 15-14 with a 3.83 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP.  This is a big loss for the Orioles as Chen has been their best starting pitcher so far this year.

26-year old righty reliever Tommy Hunter has been outstanding out of the pen so far this year for the Orioles.  He has pitched in 13 games (0 starts) for the Orioles so far this year and he is 3-1 with 1 save, a 1.40 ERA and a 0.78 WHIP.  Hunter has given up only 12 hits and 3 walks while whiffing 15 batters in his first 19 1/3 innings pitched…..which is outstanding!  Hunter seems much more at home just letting er’ rip for an inning at a time than starting.  In his first 36 games out of the pen in his career, he is 7-2 with 1 save, a 2.70 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP.  In 75 games that he has started in his career, he is 29-23 with a 4.88 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP.

21-year old righty swinging 2B/SS Jonathan Schoop came into this season as the Orioles’ #3 prospect according to Baseball America.  He has played in 31 games in AAA-ball so far this year for the Orioles and he was 29 for 115 (.252 avg, .679 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 2 homers, 15 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  Schoop has now played in 413 games in his first five years in the minors and he is 417 of 1,572 (.265 avg, .728 OPS) with 221 runs scored, 34 homers, 212 RBIs and 30 stolen bases.  The Orioles have a huge hole at 2B, so if Schoop starts hitting in AAA-ball, he could get a chance with them at some point in 2013.

UPDATE:  (5/22/2013) - Schoop will miss the next 6-8 weeks due to a stress fracture in his back.

30-year old righty swinging SS J.J. Hardy is off to a good start in May.  He has played in 8 games so far this month and he is 8 for 30 (.267 avg, . 857 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 3 homers and 6 RBIs.  He has now played in 35 games overall this year and he is 29 for 134 (.216 avg, .634 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 6 homers and 21 RBIs.  The Orioles don’t have a 40 homer guy on the roster (unless Chris Davis is), so they need everyone in the lineup to produce and Hardy has been doing that lately.